This week, I’m exploring the use of a rubric for developing interpersonal skills in the world language classroom, with a special focus on listening skills. As World Langauge teachers, we know that providing comprehensible input is essential for acquisition-driven language classes. However, listening is a crucial skill that requires a ton of practice and development.
I talked about this tool in my Growing with Proficiency Spanish Teacher Academy a month ago, and everybody was telling me how much they have used it in their classes and how well they have seen results. So, that’s why I decided to not only talk about it in this post but also record episode 25 of The Growing with Proficiency – The Podcast about it.
By using this rubric, we can create a space for self-reflection and communication with our learners, while also giving students a voice and creating accountability.
In this post and in episode 25, I’ll walk through how I use the rubric before, during, and after class, and discuss the importance of evaluating its success and reflecting on its impact. I’ll touch on the highlights here and go into more detail in the podcast episode.
The Importance of the Interpersonal Skill Rubric
This tool is a very simple tool that is called interpersonal skill rubric. It is a great way for us to talk to the students and to keep accountability in place. Now, I didn’t create this rubric at all. I learned of this rubric from many language teachers, especially when they were working on acquisition driven instruction.
The reason for this is because when we have an acquisition driven instruction class, we are really focused on providing a ton of comprehensible and compelling input to our learners so they can acquire the language. However, it doesn’t matter how great our input is, how comprehensible it can be, how compelling we think it is, because if at the other end our learners are not listening, then they’re not engaged with that input.
So, this interpersonal skill rubric is a tool that is going to help you and your students assess participation and engagement in the class. We have to think: What does listening look like in my class, what is engaging in my class, what physically do my students need to do in my class so I can see that learning is happening? I go into more detail about the meaning of terms in episode 25.
One example is the reference to distractions on the rubric. I ask my students what role their cell phone has in our class. They can become very distracting when students need to be paying attention. We also need to remember to be super specific when we are elaborating on this rubric so that the rubric is successful.
Next on the interpersonal skill rubric is about listening. Again, go over what exactly it means to be listening in your class. What does that look like? It could be that students are looking directly at you or that they are not wearing their hoodie up over their head. After you have defined the terms, then you can create the interpersonal skill rubric.
Importance of Conversations with Students
If you’d like a copy of my interpersonal skill rubric, click here to receive it through email. However, remember that mine may not work with your class. The most important thing to remember is that you need to have the conversation with your students. You need to establish the criteria of what is listening, what is being engaged, what is paying attention, what is participating, and how that looks to you and to your students. In episode 25, I also talk about expectations during Brain Breaks.
I also like to give my students an opportunity every two weeks for an open share with me. Basically, it’s “I’m ready, tell me how I can help you”. That is another channel of communication. This is what I do when I use this Interpersonal Skill Rubric. I am asking them how I can help them be successful with class participation and engagement. I like to do this every two weeks with my students on Fridays. It doesn’t take long to complete.
I used to give my students the interpersonal skill rubric at the end of class, but now I give it at the beginning. At the end of class, it seemed that they were rushing through it.
Creating Student Accountability in the Language Classroom
Another challenge is when we move from a traditional classroom, where everything is more like the traditional way with quizzes, to a more acquisition driven instruction classroom where we just listen and are expected to acquire the language. We really don’t know how much we’re acquiring.
When we sit down and have this rubric, then it becomes more specific, more tangible for our students. And that is why I love to use this rubric. Most of my students are pretty honest when it comes to what their job is, and that clarity tells them when they’re not doing it right.
Next, students need to understand the purpose of the rubric. This type of rubric is more like, this is what we need to do. We need to let them know that this is a way to see what is working and make the adjustments so they can be more successful in the class.
Let Students Share
At the end of the rubric, I ask my students if there is something that they would like to share with me. One student said to me, “every time that you ask us to get up and pair up with a student for a brain break, I sweat, my hands sweat, and my stomach hurts because it gives me so much insight”. I didn’t know that. I thought, you know, they’ve been together for three years. They’re my juniors, they’re good. No, they’re not. I would not have known this if I hadn’t asked. This is part of the importance of this rubric.
Click here to listen to more about the Interpersonal Skill Rubric on episode 25. You can also find all the episodes HERE.
Don’t forget you can get a copy of the rubric that I use. Click HERE to get your copy!
